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Sites of 2 deadly plant explosions remain closed

A fire erupted after an explosion at a chemical plant in Geismar, La., Thursday morning.

BATON ROUGE, La. -

The sites of two deadly chemical plant explosions in south Louisiana remain closed.

Officials say it could be months before federal investigators determine the cause of the fatal blasts that killed three workers and sent nearly 100 others to area hospitals last month.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has sent teams to Williams Olefins, in Geismar, and CF Industries, in Donaldsonville, both in Ascension Parish, to look into the explosions.

The chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board described to a congressional committee how quickly danger developed at the Williams Olefins plant, saying that within seconds, a 200-foot chemical vapor cloud became a towering inferno.

The plant produces ethylene and propylene – raw materials for common plastics, such as bottles and trash can liners.